Glow (Glimmer and Glow #2)(69)

“But—”

He shook her slightly. “You’ve got to stop imagining that I’m going to allow you to be sent away from me.” She went silent, stunned by his fierce focus.

His shout echoed in her head. Her mouth dropped open in amazement.

“Now are you going to listen to this, or not?” he asked in a more restrained tone. His jaw was very tight.

She nodded. Not even she would dare to defy him at that moment.

“Good,” he snapped.

He exhaled slowly, mastering himself, before he began.

“After Lynn passed away, Alan set up a trust that was to be followed to the letter while his daughter remained missing. He put sixty percent of the stock of Durand Enterprises into this trust, which included very specific philanthropic directives. He generously offered me the opportunity to purchase the remaining shares of his company—forty percent—at a discount rate. He also made me executor of Addie’s trust. Sixty percent of Durand’s cash, investments, dividends, and profits were annually poured back into that fund for nearly two decades. I’ve followed Alan’s philanthropic directives to a T, but the excess has been enormous. I’ve managed the excess to the best of my ability, and it’s done well. Very well. Alan specified that in the event that his daughter returned, the directives for how the trust must be spent would be dissolved, and either the executor or Addie, if she was of legal age, could utilize the funds as needed. The excess fund currently yields more than six hundred million dollars a year. In total, the trust is worth billions of dollars. And it’s yours, Alice . . . along with the controlling interest in Durand.”

Shivers poured through her. “I can’t take any of that.”

“I’m not asking you to be ready now, either to assume ownership or to lead the company—”

“I’m not leading Durand Enterprises. Are you crazy?” she blurted, shocked to the core at the very mention. The idea of making decisions that affected tens of thousands of people horrified her. Her ignorance and lack of experience yawned in front of her like a depthless black hole, and she was teetering on the edge of it.

“I told you, I’m not expecting anything now except that you assimilate at your own pace. Take as much time as you need.” He squeezed her upper arms for emphasis. “But I won’t have you worrying about going back to Chicago to find a job or relocating somewhere you don’t want to go. If you want to persist in this Camp Durand business, then you can be hired on as a junior executive and work in Morgantown. It’s our headquarters. Why shouldn’t you get your feet wet there?” he grumbled impatiently. Clearly she’d pushed him to the edge.

She swallowed thickly. “That’s . . . sort of what I was thinking. Hoping for.”

His gaze flickered to her face. “Then why didn’t you just say so?”

“Because I don’t know if I’m going to be asked to be a Durand manager or not!”

He rolled his eyes and let go of her. He sagged back in his seat, raking his fingers through his hair. “Jesus. Did you even hear a word of what I just said?”

“I heard you. It was sort of hard not to, you were yelling so loud!” She, too, sagged back in her seat, her arms folded across her belly. A car zoomed past, making the sedan vibrate.

“We don’t even know if it’s true yet,” she said in a hushed tone after a tense silence.

“There is no doubt in my mind. If you aren’t their daughter, why are you having all these flashbacks and memories?” he asked through a clenched jaw. “And how does it happen that Alice Reed came into being at the exact moment that Addie Durand disappeared?”

Alice closed her eyes briefly. “I’d rather see the proof, firsthand. Is that too much to ask? And in the meantime, surely it makes sense for me to continue at the camp. Don’t you think it’d be more ideal if it all turns out to be true for sure, that Durand employees knew I’d been in the trenches? That I was willing to show I’m not afraid of hard work or to start out at the bottom?”

He shook his head, staring at the road ahead of them. “You don’t understand. Durand is yours by birth and by law. You’re not obligated to prove anything.” She watched him grip the wheel, his knuckles going white.

“I disagree.” She reached out and squeezed his forearm. He blinked and looked at her. She held his stare. “I’m not saying I’m ever going to lead Durand. But if I did, I’d want to show I’d earned the right to do it. I’d want to demonstrate to the employees I was willing to work my ass off for their company. I’d want to earn their respect.” She gripped his arm. “I’d want to do it like you did,” she whispered emphatically.

She watched as the cutting fire in his eyes banked to a warm gleam. He exhaled heavily and grabbed her extended hand. He enfolded it in both of his and rested it on his thigh. They said nothing for a moment, watching as a pickup truck barreled past them and slowly disappeared down the ribbon of highway.

“Is it really all that crazy that I want to finish Camp Durand successfully?” she asked in a hushed tone.

“I guess not,” he replied. “Just stop living under the illusion that if you want to be a manager for Durand Enterprises and learn the company, that anyone has the power to stop you, including me.”

“Maybe you can explain that to Kehoe,” she murmured, smiling.